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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 1 67
its roster next season as of now.
Indications are that it would like to
keep junior-to-be Carsen Edwards in
scoring mode and nothing but.
And it does remain to be seen where
current freshman and backup point guard
Nojel Eastern's best fit lies long-term.
He'll play point guard this season and for
the balance of his career to some extent,
but the 6-6, 220-pound positional outlier
could fit into any number of roles as well.
So Purdue has recruited the position
offering a prominent role right away.
It's not been an easy search to this
point.
Purdue coaches recruited two players
in particular as priorities during the past
few years and months, but Lafayette's
Robert Phinisee committed to Indiana
and Virginia's Jaelin Llewellyn stunned
many with an abrupt commitment to Har-
vard in July, just as it seemed as if things
were trending toward the Boilermakers.
Should Llewellyn stick with the Ivy
League school — rumors he may come
back on the market had not materialized
as of late August — then it's on to finding
other targets for Purdue.
Additionally, the Class of 2019 point
guard Purdue might have foregone the
need in '18 for if it could get him, Jere-
miah Francis from Ohio, committed to
North Carolina.
The point guard search stands to be the
biggest story of this class in the fall, most
likely, since Purdue has made it such a
priority and the landscape has changed
so much.
At center, Purdue's dug in on Florida's
Emmanuel Dowuona and already hosted
the defensive- and effort-drive pivot for
an official visit in June, at which time it
was hoped he'd commit. He did not, but
the academic-minded import from Ghana
says he simply wants to make another
visit or two before making any
decisions. Georgia Tech could be
a school that gives him more to
think about, given the fact it can
stand up to Purdue's engineering
rep and would be situated closer
to Dowuona's support system in
Florida, along with him having
family connections in Atlanta.
Purdue's also offered Florida's
Colin Castleton, a skilled 5 who
can shoot from the perimeter.
He's booked an official visit for
the end of September and also
has visits plotted to Illinois, Ohio
State and Florida. A UF offer
might be impactful should one
come through.
Purdue's point guard and cen-
ter needs come as its stalwarts at
both positions — P.J. Thompson
and Isaac Haas, respectively —
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Purdue will get the first of Indianapolis
shooting guard Eric Hunter's official visits in
September. He's been a years-long priority for
the Boilermaker coaching staff.